Healthcare environments, such as hospitals or clinics, include information systems, such as hospital information systems (HIS), radiology information systems (RIS), clinical information systems (CIS), and cardiovascular information systems (CVIS), and storage systems, such as picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), library information systems (LIS), and electronic medical records (EMR). Information stored may include patient medical histories, imaging data, test results, diagnosis information, management information, and/or scheduling information, for example. The information may be centrally stored or divided at a plurality of locations. Healthcare practitioners may desire to access patient information or other information at various points in a healthcare workflow. For example, during and/or after surgery, medical personnel may access patient information, such as images of a patient's anatomy, that are stored in a medical information system. Radiologist and/or other clinicians may review stored images and/or other information, for example.
Using a PACS and/or other workstation, a clinician, such as a radiologist, may perform a variety of activities, such as an image reading, to facilitate a clinical workflow. A reading, such as a radiology or cardiology procedure reading, is a process of a healthcare practitioner, such as a radiologist or a cardiologist, viewing digital images of a patient. The practitioner performs a diagnosis based on a content of the diagnostic images and reports on results electronically (e.g., using dictation or otherwise) or on paper. The practitioner, such as a radiologist or cardiologist, typically uses other tools to perform diagnosis. Some examples of other tools are prior and related prior (historical) exams and their results, laboratory exams (such as blood work), allergies, pathology results, medication, alerts, document images, and other tools. For example, a radiologist or cardiologist typically looks into other systems such as laboratory information, electronic medical records, and healthcare information when reading examination results.
Currently, PACS systems display a full array of available tools redundantly in a PACS imaging window. As illustrated, for example, in FIG. 1, tool bars and functionality buttons clutter the screen. In the radiology industry, for example, redundant tools for radiology reading and other functions are positioned all over a workstation's imaging window, creating unnecessary clutter. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, a right click tool menu requires a radiologist to extensively navigate to select an appropriate imaging tool. Positioning of these tools in the viewing window forces the radiologist to search for a particular tool which, due at least in part to the complexity of the imaging screens, can cause inefficiencies in the reading workflow.
Current tools also force radiologists to select tools from locations on the imaging screens that require unnatural hand/mouse movements. Studies suggest that tool selection can account for up to 10% of the time taken for the diagnostic interpretation process.
Most user interface designs in the last twenty years have made some basic assumptions such as requiring the presence and use of a keyboard, a mouse, and a CRT/LCD monitor. Current user interface design is also forced to function with respect to some early design choices, such as a QWERTY keyboard, since users are familiar with those designs, and it is difficult to change user habits. Additionally, in an imaging system, using a conventional menu system takes a user's focus away from his or her tasks. Even if a user has used the same menu system many times, the user will still need to look at the menu to make a selection. Such a user interface design is not intuitive and takes substantial effort to navigate.